Create your first agent

This guide will help you create your first agent and talk to it in your browser. It takes about five minutes, and no technical skills are required. Before you start, make sure you have an OpenRouter API key. If you do not have one yet, follow Get an OpenRouter API key first.

1Sign in

Open the Salts home page and click Connect your Account. Sign in with the account you want your agents to belong to.

2Create the agent

Click Create a new Agent.

1. Enter a name for your agent. You can always change it later.
2. Leave Create a fleet of agents unchecked. Fleets are for creating agents for other people, and are explained in What is a fleet.
3. Click Next.
4. Paste your OpenRouter API key. You can also leave it empty and add it later from your agent's settings.
5. Click Create.

Your agent now shows up in the list on the home page. Click it to open it.

3Send your first message

Click Start a chat and ask your agent anything. The reply shows up in the same window, along with how much it cost.

Every chat is called a session, and your sessions are listed in the sidebar on the left. We recommend starting a new session whenever you change the subject, since a shorter conversation gives cheaper and better replies.

4Find your way around

Apart from the chat, your agent has two pages in the sidebar.

Settings is where you connect Telegram or WhatsApp, pick the model, write custom instructions, change the OpenRouter key and choose who else can use the agent.

Capabilities is where you switch on what your agent can do, such as searching the web, reading links and files, understanding images, voice notes, scheduled tasks, memory and connecting to other apps. Most capabilities are off when you create an agent. We recommend switching on only the ones you need, since each one makes every reply a little more expensive.

You are done

From here, most people want to talk to their agent from their phone. Follow Connect your agent to Telegram or Connect your agent to WhatsApp to set that up.

Footnotes

1. A Personal Account can only create a limited number of agents. If you need more, click Need more agents? on the home page and request a Fleet Account.
2. Manage access in your agent's settings lets you add other people by email. Anyone you add can chat with the agent, change its settings and read every conversation in it, including yours, so only add people you trust.